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The water quickly changed to a muddy green color with a white froth forming a thick layer across the top as the pills dissolved into nothing.
If someone got in that water and let it soak into their skin for a while, they’d probably fucking die.
Looking over at Jason, I was tempted.
But I knew it wouldn’t be long before one of those little punks who left or some nosey neighbor called the cops. So we were about to make a hasty exit.
“You tried to slip my fucking Old Lady a couple of pills.” I walked toward Jason, now on his feet, bracing himself against the glass outdoor table. His legs shook, his body flinching with every step I took closer and closer. “You thought it was funny, right? Tempt the recovering addict. See what it will take to break her so you can drag her back down to your fucking level. Next time you come near her, I’ll kill you. Got it?”
“Y… yes. I do—”
I grabbed his throat, slamming his body back and shattering the glass.
The metal frame around the edges stayed intact while Jason went straight through. He hit the ground with an earth-shaking thud, groaning loudly as he lay across the mess of scattered shards.
“Good,” I spat, screwing up my nose and turning to Shay’s brother. “You should be fucking proud of your sister and the woman she’s become. I know you had a shitty childhood. You went through some shit no one should ever have to, but that’s no excuse to roll over like a little bitch and let this fucking punk fuck you in the ass. Grow up. Do the right thing by her, or the next time I come back, I’ll be looking for you.”
He nodded, the first one slow, like it was taking time for my words to soak in.
But slowly, each nod grew a little quicker until his head was bouncing. He looked me directly in the eye. “I’ll do better.”
“Good.” That was all I had to say. He was lucky he didn’t know what his friend had done. Otherwise, I would have been tempted to dunk some motherfucker in the hot tub. “Let’s go.”
My brothers and I wandered back toward the side of the house the way we came. “Hey!” Ali called just before I took the corner. The boys paused to wait, but I waved them on.
“I’ll be there in a second.” They continued to the truck while I leaned my shoulder into the side of the house, waiting as the young guy jogged over to me. He hadn’t even touched his friend to try and help, which offered him a few more bonus points in my eyes.
“Does she hate me?”
“No. She doesn’t. You’re not the reason we came by. He was.” I pointed to Jason, who was still crying like a baby but had yet to move.
“I didn’t mean to upset her by offering her something,” he croaked, then cleared his throat. “I’ve only ever wanted to do whatever I had to so that she wasn’t in pain.”
Honestly, I believed that. He had good intentions, but his execution was horrendous.
“Shay told me you negotiated for her to go to rehab while you did time,” I told him, followed by a single nod. “I respect that you did that for her and helped her build the life she has now. But you could have a life, too, you know. Away from the need for drugs and toxic friends. That fucker is going to get you killed, Ali. Get the hell out before that happens.”
Something in his eyes had changed, even just from the moment we’d strolled in here and caused chaos.
“I want that life,” he rasped, emotion caught in his throat. “I was clean too for ages. Had a job, and living a simple life. Then Jason called. Said he had this place, money, and a job for me. Made it sound like it was going to be everything I’d dreamed of, and I ended up right back in the hell I was before I got locked up.”
I felt for him. Not just because he was Shay’s brother but because I’d witnessed the power one person could have over others.
In The Valley, they preached all this bullshit, the elders constantly rambling about how perfect heaven was going to be when we got there, hoping that their followers would be so focused on a lifetime in this beautiful, celestial kingdom that they would ignore the horrible shit they had to endure to get there.
The beatings. The physical labor. Having to watch your barely-of-age child marry her fucking uncle.
I dug around in my pocket, pulling out a fifty-dollar bill. “You know where the public library is? Woodward Avenue?”
He scrunched up his nose. “I… yeah… I think so.”
“Get a taxi or an Uber.” I reached over and put the note in his hand. “I’ll have someone meet you there. Her name is Gem. She’s a little crazy, but if you’re serious about wanting to get clean, she’ll take you to a three-month facility paid for by me.”
His mouth fell open, and he tightened his hold on the cash. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll call a taxi now.”
“Don’t fuck it up. Do it for your sister.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
